Chris was recently interviewed by Max Keiser for his On The Edge program. The videos of this discussion were released over the weekend and are available for viewing below.
The interview starts with a look at the extreme debt levels of OECD nations and the probable (and painful) repercussions they will have for the global economy. Chris spends time explaining the contradiction of how, even though we're now 'technically' experiencing deflation as this debt is being unwound, prices are rising - due to growing loss of faith in the underlying fiat currencies.
The looming Peak Oil crisis is also a major topic. Chris reiterates his concerns that the US and most other governments appear completely unprepared for a liquid fuel emergency. Reactively creating our national response on the fly will likely initially result in rationing, followed by greater market and social chaos.
Max presses for a timeline on the arrival of Peak Oil and Chris maintains his 2014 prediction, offering recent data that bolster the argument that the peak is imminent, if not already upon us. Both agree that a systemic breakdown caused by this crisis will play out, whenever it arrives, much faster than people expect.
Max Keiser’s show is produced by PressTV, a news organization out of Iran. Putting the substantial geopolitical issues aside, it is funded, monitored, and regulated by the state of Iran, which is known for heavy use of propaganda and quelling opinions or statements that are not in line with the government’s official position. IMO one will still find some factual information there, but it helps to remain aware that there’s always an agenda there. To be fair though, perhaps the only real difference between them and American mainstream media is that the latter put more effort into maintaining the illusion of being non-biased and objective
I am happy that Max let Chris do most of the talking… one of my pet peeves with Max Keiser is that sometimes he spends half the interview on his own rants and editorials. Even when Max has a point, I still prefer him to let the interviewee do more of the talking. Great job Chris!
So it seems obvious to me that the U.S. and other major economies are on the brink of collapse. My question is, if this happens in the next couple of years and the global economy is severely hampered by how much will peak oil be delayed?
Hi Chris,
I am a huge fan and enjoyed this interview, however I would like to see anything in your archives where you have been interviewed by a sceptic - preferably one that has some credibility as you do. I find in discussions with my colleagues who are skeptics it is challenging and I would like to see how you step up with your knowledge. I am passionate about these issues, but I am confronted by disbelievers in the fundamentals - peak oil, debt reality etc etc. Would love to see you on TV in Australia to face the ludicrous debate down here at the moment!
I would love to have a go with an informed skeptic too. Honestly, I would.
The problem has been finding one. These do not constitute legitimate, debateable, skepticism:
"Debts don't matter, we've had high debts before and nothing has happened."
"We keep finding more oil all the time so there's no problem"
"Technology keeps improving, so you're wrong about everything."
"Nothing really bad has happened yet, so it probably won't"
These are all forms of belief-based arguments or logical fallacies, or both. I get plenty of these all the time, but they are not worth the time or effort to debate because you can't debate someone out of a belief-based position.
I’ve yet to find anyone who can stick to the facts, remain unemotional, and has the depth to understand both the science and the economics at play. Still hoping to find someone and would welcome the challenge, but none have emerged yet.
But I think that setting up an interview where the very toughest questions we can possibly find are addressed would be a good mechanism for helping to reach a few more skeptics. That’s an interesting idea.
Still, my position is that people will arrive at the story when they are ready and that the barriers to acceptance are almost all belief-based and not because of a paucity of facts. That is, simply re-telling the story but with more or better organized facts is only marginally effective at reaching more people; a better approach is to spend time figuring out which beliefs people hold and then trying to fashion the material around those instead.
As always, it was a great interview. Thank you!
I’ve been wishing I had a one page cheat sheet that is similar to the Money and Markets tab. It would have the real numbers on national debt, oil reserves, inflation, unemployment, bonds, etc. Or maybe just the links to those things so I could find them easily and send others to them.
Another possibility is to have a question and answer sheet addressing the difficult questions that might serve the same purpose as an interview with an informed skeptic. This could be printed and handed out to “difficult to reach” people. I would run out of ink fast. Or we could use it to learn how to respond to someone who, for instance, says in response to peak oil, “But we have tons of natural gas that will take up the slack from the dwindling oil supply.”. Although I understand the basics of what’s going on, it would be impossible for me to carry on an in-depth conversation and rattle off convincing facts to back it up. It reminds me of how you are supposed to have a 2 or 3 line verbal resume ready to spit out when looking for a job and meeting someone randomly at a social event or wherever. Right now, I just draw a blank, lift my glass to my lips and wish they would turn into a chicken or goat so I could relate to them better.